1. Newsletter 1 March 2012
The Centaur Roll Call
S W I F T A N D B O L D
F r o m t h e
C o m m a n d e r ’ s D e s k
If you follow us on Face- form Families of the great
book or you husband or things your Soldiers are
wife is the talkative kind doing. Like all things
you have seen the dedica- though there will be some
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E : tion your Centaurs have areas that could stand im-
given to developing these provement and we wel-
Importance of Army
Families
2 critical core skills as we come and encourage your
have been out for Table V, suggestions for making the
Alpha Battery pushes on
with training
3 VI, X, and XII exercises over Centaur Roll Call a world
the past 5 months. I'm class publication. Articles
Bravo flexes their mus-
cles at LFX
4 Swift and Bold! As we ap- proud to say that while we from our Families are en-
proach the one year mark- have a ways to go we are couraged and welcomed,
Birthdays & Anniversa-
ries
5-6 ing our return from now capable of accomplish- please submit them to our
Afghanistan we are fortu- ing our mission of providing FRSA, Kimberley Williams
Golf Co keeps the Batter-
ies going
7 nate enough to be able to indirect fires for the 1st for review.
look another year in the Brigade Combat Team
HHB conducts Warrior
Responder Course
8 eye here in the United wherever the Nation calls In closing, I'm incredibly
States before our next us to serve. This is no proud to continue to serve
"Climb to Glory". As all of small feat, we have young with your Soldiers, they are
you know we are preparing SGTs and in some cases a fantastic group of Ameri-
for our next deployment Staff Sergeants that had cans who are clearly proud
and for this Artillery never fired a round, I'm of the work they do. I am
Battalion that means being proud to say that is no humbled on a daily basis by
able to not only shoot but longer the case. their dedication to duty and
to perform as maneuver to their country. We are the
and in some cases it may Another area we have been best Battalion in the United
call for training our Afghan focusing on is getting our States Army and we are
counterparts. Either systems in place to prepare that way because you are in
way we will remain flexible us for longer redeploy- it. Thanks for what you do
and rest assured your sol- ments and upcoming future for your Families and your
diers will get the training deployments. This newslet- Soldiers.
they need to be successful ter is one of those systems
in the mission they per- that we are bringing back LTC Oeschger
form. on line as a means to in-

2. P a g e 2 T h e C e n t a u r R o l l C a l l
Fa m i l i e s E m p ow e r S o l d i e r s
Swift and Bold! and enhance your knowl- Many Volunteers in this
This month I would like to edge of the pending deploy- Battalion are here to edu-
discuss the importance of ment. Keep in mind that cate and help you along the
the Military Family. Often every deployment is differ- way and we appreciate
family members do not truly ent and adapting to this their commitment to the
understand the significant change is key to your suc- CENTAUR family. I urge you
role they play in a success- cess as an Army Family. to please take advantage of
ful Military career. I person- FRG's were established to the programs offered to
ally have witnessed on nu- increase the resiliency of you. Some may just find
merous occasions over the the Unit, Soldiers, and their the experience a rewarding
last 24 years the confi- Families. They provide prac- one that will last a lifetime.
dence and vigor a Soldier tical tools for adjusting to My door is always open and
can attain from the Military deployments and if you may ever have ques-
strength of his or her Fam- separations and can also tions or concerns please do
ily. Many successful mis- enhance the well-being and not hesitate to let me know.
sions can be attributed to esprit de corps within the Thank you for everything
the dedication and under- unit. One of the goals of an you do.….
standing of a Soldier’s Fam- FRG is to support the mis-
ily. sion by providing support, CSM Thomas
outreach, and information CENTAUR 7
Our Family is about to ex- to Family members.
perience our next deploy-
ment in the upcoming
year… Being a Resilient We lc o m es t o th e 3 - 6FA
Army Family means know-
Family!!
ing how to prepare for and
get through a deployment Alpha Battery Headquarters Battery
successfully. An important SSG Diaz PFC Walston
part of supporting your Sol-
dier is to prepare for a de- SGT Glass SGT Crutcher
ployment by knowing what 2LT Burke CSM Thomas
to expect. Spouses and
CPL Mays PFC Palko
Family members who are
engaged in learning about 1LT Niemerg
resources ahead of time Bravo Battery PFC Vasseur
will be emotionally and lo-
SFC Bejar SGT Kellenbenz
gistically better prepared.
Becoming more involved in 2LT Dingbaum PV2 Alfonso
your Family Readiness PV2 Cash CPT Becotte
Group (FRG) is one of the
best ways to understand

3. N e w s l et t e r P a g e 3
Fa m i l i e s o f A l p h a b a t t e ry,
your Soldiers have been full occupied training areas 10A support. I’m extremely proud
throttle since coming off of and 10B and conducted pla- of what we have accom-
block leave on 03 JAN 2012. toon level operations and fire plished as a Field Artillery
The first day back, the battery mission processing. Over the Battery thus far and am look-
immediately immersed itself course of the exercise, the ing forward to future opera-
in rigorous preparations for platoons conducted multiple tions. This is truly a great
the field. The 9th-12th of displacements, both day and organization with a depth of
January, Alpha Battery night, while delivering timely great Soldiers and families,
wasted no time in executing and accurate fires for 1-71 and it is a pleasure and privi-
8th Section “Ocho”, 2nd Platoon, Alpha
it’s first field exercise of the CAV’s observers on OP5. The lege to be a part of. Battery 3-6 FA, led by SGT Michael Stratton,
year with OPERATION ROCK battery shot a combined total fires a round from Panther DZ during the
PRECIPICE, where the battery of 359 rounds over the four- Battalion Table XII Live Fire Exercise in
occupied Training Area 8B day exercise without incident. Congratulations to the follow-
January 2012.
and conducted platoon col- Additionally, several Distin- ing NCOs and Soldiers on
lective dry fire training over guished Visitors observed
their recent promotions:
four days. Upon returning, and participated in the bat-
the battery had a week to tery’s live fire training and Morrow, Anthony – SSG
recover it’s equipment while were impressed with the Smith, Brian – SSG
simultaneously preparing for professionalism and Covert, Matthew – SGT
the Battalion Table XII Live technical knowledge the Frechette, Kyle – SPC
Fire Exercise, a feat in and of “Sons of Alpha” possess. Perez, Jimmy – PFC
itself. From the 23rd-29th of Scott, Harold – PFC
January, the battery again Bartley, William – PV2
deployed to the field, occu- The men of the “Rock” Bat-
pied firing points on Panther tery significantly improved
Drop Zone, and successfully their skill sets across the “Rock Solid!” 3rd Section, 1st Platoon, Alpha Battery 3-6 FA,
fired 525 artillery rounds board in a short period of SPC Joshua Duffy (Gunner) operates the
during platoon operations. time, greatly enhancing the -ROCK 6 Panoramic Telescope of a M119 105mm
Upon completion, the battery capabilities and readiness of Howitzer during the Battalion Table XII Live Fire
once again began preparing the unit. They put it all on Exercise in January 2012 while SSG Anthony
Morrow (Section Chief) supervises to ensure safe
for its next field training exer- the line, day in and day out operations.
cise, OPERATION ROCK ICE- and consistently perform in
HAMMER. It would be the austere conditions without
first time the battery de- degradation or complaints.
ployed to the field apart from The strength of our Soldiers
the battalion to conduct a is a direct correlation of the
live-fire exercise, but not strength of their families.
without some key supporting The “Rock” couldn’t be what CPT Clint Hauger
assets from HHB and Golf Alpha Battery
it is today without the support Commander
Company: Survey, MET, Ra- of it’s families, and the fami-
dar, and Distro. From the 7th lies providing outstanding
-10th of February, the battery
T h e f i r s t s e r g e a n t ’ s
c o r n e r
I would like to start off with I 15 days. The Sons of Alpha I would also like to take
have no idea what happened have successfully fired over the time to show recognition
with winter; however, I have 700 safe and accurate artil- to PV2 Alobaidi who was rec-
enough sense and have been lery rounds and conducted a ognized as the Brigade Sol-
stationed here long enough Battery level live fire exercise, dier of the Quarter and repre-
to still be weary of Old Man the first in the five years sented the battery and bat-
Alpha Battery’s PFC Alobaidi receives an
award from 1BCT Commander COL Stephen
Winter at Fort Drum. With since I have been in the Bat- talion at the Division Soldier
Michael in recognition for winning the that said, I cannot tell you talion. Continue to support of Quarter Board placing
Brigade Soldier of the Quarter Board.
how proud I am of the Sol- your Soldiers as we continue second. A job well done!
diers in Alpha Battery. Since to get back to the basics of
coming off Christmas Block field artillery and remember -ROCK 7
Leave approximately 45 days the first word in Field Artillery
ago, we have successfully is FIELD!
gone to the field for a total of

4. P a g e 4 T h e C e n t a u r R o l l C a l l
Br avo batt ery
16th of February 29 – May 11), the
which focused on Battery will be pro-
the same tasks viding indirect fire “...thanks to all
from the January support to Infantry
Field Exercise in an and Cavalry Battal- the family
attempt to increase ions throughout the
familiarity with Pla- BCT as they maneu- members who
toon level opera- ver throughout the
tions and to in- battlefield and con- continue to
2012 has started off as a promis- crease the speed at which the duct operations on
ing year for the Soldiers of Bravo howitzer sections and FDCs oper- objective areas. The support this fine
Battery as they continue to im- ate. Supported by the forward ob- Battery will also es-
prove their skills as artillerymen in servers from 1-87 Infantry, the tablish Platoon level organization…”
support of 1BCT, 10th Mountain Battery’s performance was out- firebase in order to
Division. Prior to block leave, how- standing. The Battery fired over incorporate lessons
itzer sections along with fire direc- 350 rounds safely and accurately learned during the
tion centers (FDCs) completed and increased both the speed and Battery LFX on February 13th-16th
their section level qualifications proficiency in which they con- and to continue improving the
for the first time in over two years. ducted fire missions from January. skills required to defend an artil-
With the start of the New Year, the The Battery also executed the con- lery position area.
Battery progressed to conducting struction of a Platoon Firebase
Platoon level training in prepara- during this exercise which is a skill I am continually impressed with
tion for the Battalion’s Platoon that an overwhelming majority of the work that our Soldiers are do-
Live Fire Qualification from the the Battery has not executed previ- ing on a day to day basis as they
23rd-29th of January. The Battery ously. The construction process continue to improve skills that the
performed superbly despite ad- was a great learning experience Battalion has not focused on in
verse weather conditions firing for all involved and turned out to over two years due to deployment
over 500 rounds safely and accu- be a great success in the end. Sol- schedules. The Soldiers in Bravo
rately and qualifying both firing diers were able to see the practice Battery are a motivated and dedi-
Platoons and FDCs. The Battery put into action and see where they cated group of professionals that
was commended on its profession- need to improve for the next at- are among the best that I have
alism and proficiency by the Dep- tempt. had the pleasure of working with
uty Commanding General of Op- during my career in the Army. I am
erations COL (P) Clarke during In the coming months, the Battery fully confident that this Battery will
their execution of this exercise. will continue to increase its artil- become among the best in this
lery proficiency as it participates in fine Division and that the Soldiers
The Battery conducted an internal Battalion and Brigade level live fire will be more than capable to ac-
Live Fire Exercise from the 13th- exercises. The first of these will be complish any mission that they are
a Battalion exercise from tasked with in the future. I send
the 5th-9th of March where my thanks to all the family mem-
Platoons will be tested on bers who continue to support this
their ability to maneuver fine organization and look forward
across the battlefield and to the upcoming months of train-
provide fire support in the ing and other social functions with
process. Platoons will also the Bravo Battery family.
be evaluated on their ability
to evacuate casualties, re- Ryan W. Graf
act to enemy attacks and CDR, B/3-6 FA
many other skills that are Bulls Deep!
required when operating in
a deployed environment.
During the BCT Fire Support
SGT Roy and SGT Cudal conducting a direct fire mission Certification Exercise (April
on January 26 2012.

5. N e w s l et t e r P a g e 5
March Birthdays March Anniversaries
Alpha Battery Lovely Caranay Alpha Battery Headquarters Battery
PFC Osama Alobaidi Jennifer DeLozier Christopher & Suzette Keith & Leigha Anderson
Suzette Davis Sarah Herrera Davis Dustin & Jessica Ellis
SGT Mitchell Hallock Kayla Richert Joseph & Vanessa Frazier
SPC John Lundgren Golf company Bravo Battery Michael & Jennifer
PFC William Mahler SPC Michael Forrester Joshua Byrd & Amanda McSurdy
Neary Brady & Emily Smith
SGT Gerardo Quintana Headquarters Battery
Joshua & Amber Dozanti Phillip & Megan Spence
PFC Nicholas Shelton Christina Hackler
Dakota & Megan Miles
Kiara Smith Candace Heriger
Bravo Battery Wendy O’Connor
Ta’Shania Abbate Amy Tiner
Cora Valencia

6. P a g e 6 T h e C e n t a u r R o l l C a l l
April Birthdays April Anniversaries
Alpha Battery Bravo Battery Alpha Battery Headquarters Battery
SGT John Barilani Brittney York Jesse & Wendy McGowen Francis & Pamela Ciar-
SPC Jacob Brandon David & Kelly Caulfield rocchi
SGT James Bratton Headquarters Battery Nicholas & Jana Aaron & Ashley Griggs
SPC Christopher Davis Kathryn Anderson Townzen Hector & Lori Luna
SGT Brandon Harrian Nicole Billman Gary & Analicia Monte-
Bravo Battery negro
2LT Kyle Helm Vanessa Frazier
Daniel & Ta’Shania Jeremy & Angel Reed
Pamela Rodriguez Stephanie Hicks
Abbate
SGT Christopher Ross Tracy Reed
George & Tasha Wishork
PFC Harold Scott Ruthie Van Orman

7. N e w s l et t e r P a g e 7
G O L F C O M P A N Y
SGT Gary Tarter (right) and PFC Kevin Hirons
perform maintenance on a heater during the January
Table XII Gunnery.
This year has already been ercise was the opportunity
a busy one for Golf Com- to conduct field feeding
pany! We have deployed operations for the first from March
to the field in support of time in nearly two years. 05-10. The
the Battalion during Janu- The Soldiers in the field rest of the
ary’s Table XII Gunnery. feeding section worked month of
The Soldiers performed continuously day and March will
extremely well in less than night to prepare hot morn- have the Com-
ideal weather conditions ing and evening meals pany involved
providing continuous logis- that were outstanding and in various pla-
tical support. The Distribu- enjoyed by everyone in the toon level SSG Randy Randolph (right) checks his uniform as SGT Matthew
th
tion Platoon logged over Battalion. training events Howard (center) Day Ball. with 1LT Nathan Carpenter at the 10
BSB Valentine’s
converses
11,000 miles on the road preparing for
In February, the Company
in the training areas dur- the upcoming field exer-
supported the firing Bat-
ing the six day exercise cise in April. The Company
teries during their respec-
delivering hot meals, just welcomed back WO1
tive live fire exercises. We
6,500 gallons of fuel, and Clyde Elliott from Warrant
also participated in small
over 1,200 ammunition Officer Basic Course and
arms weapons qualifica-
rounds to the firing batter- are excited that two of our
tion, Warrior First Re-
ies. The maintenance pla- Guardian Soldiers, SSG
sponder training, and the
toon provided direct main- Nickesha Hibbert and SPC
Battalion’s “Commo Acad-
tenance support to the Markeeshia Neal, were
emy” conducted by the
Battalion’s wheeled vehi- selected to the Fort Drum
Battalion S6. Some mem-
cles, generators, and how- Culinary Arts Team and
bers of the Company at-
itzers. The vehicle recov- will be participating in the
tended the 10th Brigade
ery team was also called 37th Annual Military Culi-
Support Battalion’s Valen-
upon several times to re- nary Arts Competition in
tine’s Day Ball held at The
cover vehicles that be- Fort Lee, Virginia from
Commons and enjoyed a
came stuck as a result of February 24 thru March 9. Background Picture:
great night of dinner and Distribution Platoon, Golf
Company, loads a flat rack with
the harsh driving condi-
dancing. We are currently ammunition residue on the back
of a Load Handling System (LHS)
tions. The highlight for the
in preparation for the Bat- ~Guardian 6~
on the final day of the January
Table XII Gunnery.
Guardians during this ex-
talion’s Table XII Gunnery

8. P a g e 8 T h e C e n t a u r R o l l C a l l
H H B
W a r r i o r f i r s t r e s p o n d e r c o u r s e
( F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2 )
this environment at the Fort Drum nel since the summer. The hard
Medical Simulation Training Facil- work and full participation will con-
ity. This state-of-the-art facility in- tinue until this end state is
cludes a litter obstacle course to achieved
simulate casualty evacuation and
By: SGT Benjamin Hackler
a casualty “battle environment”
that allows Soldiers to practice the
skills they learned on life-like
From February 7th to the 10th, 3-6 “casualties.”
FA Soldiers took part in Warrior
Soldiers are required to attend this
First Responder Training. This in-
course on a yearly basis, as part of
tensive, 40 hour course involves
an Army-wide campaign to de-
training Soldiers on advanced first
crease the time a battle casualty
aid techniques that can save a
is treated for life-threatening inju-
casualty’s life out on the battle-
ries and evacuated from a hostile
field and during training missions.
environment to a Medical treat-
The focus is on treating the top
ment Facility. The 3-6 FA medics
three casualty producing injuries
have adopted their own approach
in a wartime environment: life-
to this by providing real-life hands
threatening arterial bleeding, air-
on training that has been proven
way blockage, and open chest
to work in their recent deployment
wounds. Soldiers must pass an
to Afghanistan. There is also an m the “head
man”
extensive, informational and sta- lift the casu
alty fro
extensive knowledge base within ait orders to leader
Students aw the litter team
tistic-based knowledge test, as * The head
man is
the platoon ranging from recent
well as a rigorous hands-on sce-
experiences in Afghanistan, highly
nario that simulates treating a
trained medics pursuing higher
casualty in a stress-induced envi-
education in the medical field, and
ronment. The instructors from
other medics who have had duty
HHB, 4th platoon medics, got
assignments at Medical treatment
“inside the heads” of the partici-
facilities and other line units. 3-6
pants and effectively portrayed
FA is currently working towards
training 100% of their personnel
and has trained over 100 person-
One o
f th
level w e litter team
hile en s attem
* for s te pt to k
afety re ring the “riv eep th
asons er o bs e casu
, no w tacle” alty
ater is
used d
uring w
inter
of the
sualty out
keep the ca k.
ad carry is used to e chan ce of shoc
An overhe increase th
sualty can
water . A wet ca
SPC Meneses and PFC Elwood act as OPFOR for an
upcoming attack on the students